Contact: pennydickersonwrites@gmail.com

Penny Dickerson is an artist whose primary form of expression is writing.. She earned a B.A. degree in Journalism from Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Lesley University (Cambridge, MA).  She will transition as an English & Creative Writing Instructor at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and join her alma mater, Florida State College Jacksonville, as a Liberal Arts Professor in 2012 teaching courses in English composition I & II and Film.

Penny is additionally an Independent Journalist contributing to the Florida Times-Union, Florida Courier, and regional/national publications.  Prior employment includes English professorships at Virginia College, Adjunct/High School collaborative positions with Sussex County Community College and Hopatcong High School (New Jersey) and teaching posts for Duval County Public Schools. As a fundraiser, Penny served as Assistant Area Director of Development for the United Negro College Fund’s $1 million Orlando team, and is  former Marketing Director for Gateway Towne Center.

Born Merdis Lavonda Robinson in El Paso, Texas, she was given the nickname Penny by her mother, but friends close to the helm refer to her simply as “P.”  Raised a “military brat,” Penny traveled extensively and attended various primary/middle schools, but ultimately graduated from Nathan Bedford Forrest High school in Jacksonville, Florida. Pageantry afforded her the opportunity to pursue higher education, as she won several teen pageants and was further crowned the first black Miss Florida Junior College (Miss America Preliminary) and held the title Miss Black Florida.

Prior to winning the National Shrine Pageant, she  traveled the Caribbean with the 1st Miss Florida USO Troupe and has experienced all points of the world as a former TWA Flight Attendant. Penny is listed as an Outstanding Woman in American, Who’s Who In American Junior Colleges, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and is a Leadership Jacksonville Alumni. She is an American Symphony Orchestra League Management Fellowship finalist, Creative Capital Professional  Development  Workshop participant, and recently participated in the  2011 Minority Writer’s Seminar sponsored by the National Board of Editorial Writers.

Penny specializes in human interest stories and interviews. Some high profile subjects include Nikki Giovanni, Ntozaki Shange, Congresswoman Corrine Brown and more.  She is a cancer survivor currently penning a non-fiction work titled, “Malignant Wind,” which she hopes to release in 2012. Penny beholds an abiding love for God and is the divorced, single parent to Kelsey Nicole Dickerson (22) who gave birth to “Journey Nicole” on February 18, 2012. Like a champion, Kelsey earned her B.F.A. degree in Dance from Jacksonville University four months later (May 2012). She is a performing company member with Paradigm Flux and Full-time Studio Manager for “Dansations.”

Penny is a proud, proud, proud

“Nana P.”   

CLICK LINK TO READ MY JOURNAL DEBUT:

Cancer is Crazy: Journals in the Raw (Part I)

http://www.ebony.com/wellness-empowerment/cancer-is-crazy-journals-in-the-raw-part-1-967#axzz2SScicOu0

First allow me to remind some and initially inform others that I’ve been writing/blogging about African Americans and Cancer for more than two years. I was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma in 2006 after decades of other health related issues that affected my reproductive system and resulted in a series of ongoing catastrophes. Additonally, I was told I’d never have a child. My daughter, Kelsey Nicole, turns 23 in June. I beat odds.

It wasn’t until last week, May 2, 2013, that my voice, my story, my advocacy was given a national platform. It was and remains a blessing in due season.

This didn’t come by luck or by brown-nosing anyone in high places. It was favor and by that I do mean spiritually, coupled with the good heart and professional favor of a savvy editorial director at Ebony Magazine (Digital). Actually, I impressed the CEO/President of TJM Communications, Inc. (Treva Marshall). Her firm was contracted to manage public relations for the Disney Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey and Essence Magazine.

Treva referred me to the  Ebony.com Editorial Director who offered the opportunity to write                       

“The Kinsey Collection.”

It is a fascinating historical representation of an African American family’s private art collection and  debuted at at Walt Disney’s Epcot Center the same weekend as the Dreamers Academy took place. Time is everything. 

Ebony (March 20, 2013)   “A Whole New World: The Kinsey Collection”

http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/a-whole-new-world-the-kinsey-collection#axzz2SU2Smcty

My initial goal with Ebony was to get a paragraph or two in by the end of March to honor Kidney Cancer Awareness month which was also the same month as DDA. I’d previously shared with the editorial director that the REAL struggle with cancer begins AFTER survival. Physicians save you, but you have to put your life back together.

The result of  my pitches and (perhaps) harrassment was an offer to do a cancer journal, twice a month with the following caveat: “I want it to be raw.”  (I still can’t believe she presented such a generous offer.)  Thinking I (really knew) what raw meant, the following online dialogue between she and I ensued:

Writer in the raw:

This raw you speak of, do you mean like this?: Revision #`1.

Editor’s Response (days later): 

“Penny if you don’t want to do it, that’s OK. I want this to be cathartic for you.”

Writer in the raw (to self):

“She must want me to show off my metaphorical genius. You mean like this?” Revision #2

Editor’s Response (a week + days later):

“Penny, I want you to emote, not report. Think the antithesis of reportage.”

By now it’s mid April. I’ve sent a string of other non-cancer related pitches and driven her stark mad with emails that go to her phone. Professional (or scared stalker) that she was, she always responded and usually at length. (For freelancers, that’s unprecedented).

Stumped by the journal, I simply stopped writing. I recalibrated and went through my old journals to see what I actually wrote back in 2006, 2007, 2008, you get the chronology. I also scanned through my old M.F.A. binders and reviewed the words of previous mentors, one of whom wrote the following feedback on a submission prior to my graduating:

“You’re finally writing like you don’t care who’s reading.” Translation: RAW!

I then reviewed some notes from Rick Horowitz (Huffington Post and a MASTER on teaching writer’s to learn their “voice.”). One of the BEST workshops I’ve ever attended.

After that, I was courageous and good to go.

Revision #3 is the published link above and the first in a series of “to be determined” entries.

By now, it’s the end of April. I’m told that the journal will debut as part of an Ebony    “Woman up!” series highlighting “Sister Stories.”

Mine will be included, but they need my photo image by Tuesday, April 30, 2013 (What?) That was the next day.

Well, my great artistic friend Greg McKinnon (of Alvin Ailey Scholarship Recipient, Cats and Starlight Express – EUROPE) had me semi-scheduled two weeks ago to do some shots that I procrastinated on. According to him, he was sick of seeing my blurry photos and camera phone shots on all of my public sites. Greg was also a model while in Europe and therefore knows a thing or ten and has more equipment and gadgets and lights and booms than I’ve evah seen.

Monday night, April 29th, till about 2:00 a.m., we played Top Model and had a good ‘ole time. I am a horrid model and we must have taken a gazillion shots. By night’s end, I was so dizzy and nauseated (forgot medicine), that he had to bring me home; I left my car at his house, which incidently has been my 2nd house since high school. I can go in his Mama’s pots AND I know where they keep the toilet paper.

I want people to understand that these things, these blessings, these opportunities, this favor, does NOT happen overnight. In the midst of all of the above, I continued to write major features for other affiliates, was hospitalized for five days…no, as a matter of fact I didn’t widely share that bit of information, and I also continued to hold it down as Professor Dickerson at Florida State College at Jacksonville. Trust me: I am nobody’s whiner.

A cohort of small minds have voiced that, “Penny is milking that cancer thing for all it’s worth.” Really? Whose been reading my cancer blogs? Have you any idea how many editors politely tell me to “stick it?” Throughout the years, many have but most editorial relationships I’ve developed are sustainable and treasured.

My health has indeed been an ongoing saga, but not for the reasons many may think. It’s a multi-layered struggle that has many dimensions. I think it’s called playing the hand you’re dealt and making lemonade when life serves you lemons. What’s milk got to do with anything?

Let me share this: A 9 cm tumor basically ruined my life. “BATTLE” as associated with cancer is not limited to the physical disease. Even if you think you know about my struggle, I assure you, I have never revealed HALF of what this has taken me through, but it will be exposed in these upcoming journal entries.

I have been a freelance writer since 2001. While it’s been intermittent, writing is my passion and on some level, I’ve always been a lover of language and gravitated towards prose. My first, FIRST, freelance article appeared in the Florida Times-Union. It featured three local dancers admitted to the Alvin Ailey School of Dance summer program.

That was A LONG time ago and 12 years later it’s still an act of media congress to get a story in the Florida Times-Union. For some odd reason, many also think I started writing when my first  website launched in 2010. NOT! The website was simply a much needed portal to market both me and my work. My writing precedes it.

Click the link below to read: LOCAL TEENS TO ATTEND AILEY

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/060901/ner_6381011.shtml

I have kept at it, kept at it, kept at it, studied, stayed up late, studied with MASTER writers  and poets, given up, slowed down, gotten back up, and yeah, NOW I’m published in Ebony, but it has been a 12 year hike uphill and this is not the end nor is it the pinnacle.

It is, however, definitive symbolism of a professional milestone for which I am proud, but I continue to foster and nurture dreams and goals. And when I dream, I dream big, bold, and in technicolor.

Every writer understands the gravity of this opportunity. A national platform in a digital format for ANY writer in the 21st century is a coup and I quote: “EBONY.com is the premiere online magazine destination for African-American cultural insight, news, and perspective.” 

Don’t HATE because cancer serves as a formidable outlet for creative exchange. Love me because I am using my voice and gift(s) to  prevent you from getting cancer.

Those who know me (well) can also attest that I am one of the most resourceful and undeterred human beings on planet earth. My confidence sometimes wanes, but I keep it moving. MOVIN’.

Now that I have your attention, please take time to read and share the links below. There are so many devastating cancers in the world, but the ones we pay the least attention to are the ones that unfortunately affect us the most.

Each of my journal entries will begin with the same excerpt from my Duke Medical Center Records. You’ll learn that Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, NC also played an integral role in my treatment. The following sentences bookend my personal journey.

Ms. Merdis Dickerson is a 43-year-old African American female who began experiencing abdominal pain in the spring of 2006 and was noted to have gallstones…

The Pathology showed a clear cell renal cell carcinoma, grade II out of IV, which was confined to the kidney and measured 0.9 cm in greatest dimension.” –

Excerpt from Duke Medical Records: Raleigh, North Carolina

Black Kidney Cancer Patients Die earlier than White Patients

http://www.ebony.com/black-listed/wellness-empowerment/black-kidney-cancer-patients-die-earlier-than-white-patients-981#axzz2SScicOu0

Black Cancer Death Disparities – Why the difference?

http://www.ebony.com/black-listed/wellness-empowerment/black-cancer-death-disparities-why-the-difference-981#axzz2SScicOu0

Penny Dickerson 2013

It appeared in the Florida Courier and was titled: “SIN OR CIVIL RIGHT.”  

I found it a tremendous CHALLENGE to find ANYONE in the state of Florida to go “on record” with both an admission of their same-sex lifestyle and/or willingness to simply speak on the issues affecting human rights.

Thank you to Jeff Cohen, former CEO & President of Attitude Records and Dolphin Music Distributors who formerly managed the career of Willetta “Mamado” Smith. He was integral in getting me in touch with her.

Special thanks to Kezia Hendrix Rolle who offered Bruce “Tobi” Ellison of Orlando as an apt subject. His input proved to be insightful and candid.

And to “Keisha,” a south Florida reporter with the Florida Courier who assisted by offering Tampa’s Jeronica Byrd. She, too, was absolutely well-versed on Prop 8 and DOMA and had zero misgivings regarding her contributions: past or present life.

‘PEOPLE SHOULDN’T JUDGE’

Three of Florida’s vocal voices on gay rights discuss their journey and their thoughts on same-sex marriage

BY PENNY DICKERSON
SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

A new era of gay rights advocacy has swept the nation.

The Jacksonville chapter of Parents for Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) leased billboards in 2012 broadcasting their support: “We love our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender children.”  The strategic signage alerted traffic along major thoroughfares.

In November 2012, Jacksonville City Council members defeated a human rights ordinance that sought to ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals in regards to employment and looking for housing while an amended version would have added six words: “sexual orientation, gender identity or expression” to the list of classes already protected by the city’s anti-discrimination statute.”

It also was defeated by a 17-2 margin. Liberals and conservatives remain divided.

The responsibility to define gay rights’ parameters belongs to states.

Florida advocates are among the most voluminous in the nation and speak with candor regarding human rights and the religious order.

WHAT IS PROPOSITION 8?

California’s controversial ballot initiative known as Proposition 8 defines marriage only as between a man and a woman.

It is widely understood as a ban on gay marriages.

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, prevents legally wed same-sex couples from receiving certain benefits by defining marriage as between a man and woman. (Florida has its own version of DOMA that was overwhelmingly passed by the Florida Legislature in 1997.)

In 2008, inspired by California’s Proposition 8, strong support from Florida’s African-American voters led to passage of an amendment to the state constitution, which now bans gay marriage in Florida. Then-Gov. Charlie Crist supported the amendment, as did then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Five years and a presidential re-election later, the legalization of gay marriage is front-and-center at the nation’s highest court.

On March 27, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on a part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that prevents legally wed same-sex couples from receiving certain benefits by defining marriage as between a man and woman.

Willetta Smith has been openly gay since age 14. Her father nicknamed her “Mamado” at the age of two because she always mocked her mama.

Decades later, that same loving patriarch brandished a shotgun inside “Club 209,” one of Jacksonville’s historic gay establishments.  He came to reclaim his runaway daughter.

“I knew in elementary school I was different,” Smith explained. “I dated guys because it was the right thing to do, but I’ve never slept with one.

There was never love at all.”

When she became a runaway and truant, Smith used a fake ID to frequent gay clubs like the “French Quarters” and “Studs and Drag Queens” became her family.

“A neighborhood drug dealer led my father where I was hanging out,” explained Smith. “He bust in with that shotgun and just embarrassed me,” she joked.

Musician, activist
A family meeting followed that critical night; it ended with parental tears.

Smith decisively proclaimed her gay lifestyle and never looked back.

Attending night class and summer school, she earned a diploma from William M. Raines Senior High School and as reciprocity to Daddy, she became a musician.

The self-taught keyboard player completed advanced music theory and engineering courses at Florida State College at Jacksonville and Edward Waters College followed by an impressive recording artist career.

The next three decades parallel a reality television show. Smith was in a seven-year relationship with a woman who birthed twins prior to a prison sentence. Smith became a surrogate mother and managed a strip club for nine years prior to her own conviction, which also landed her in prison. Behind bars she recorded a music CD featuring fellow inmates.

‘God made us’
Smith is now 54 years old and engaged to be married to 26-year-old rap artist/model Alea Janae Davis.

Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage prohibits a legal union, but they are considering other states and remain unapologetic regarding choice.  “God is a loving, caring God to me. We love, we don’t hate,” expressed Smith.

“People shouldn’t judge. God made us.”

Bruce Ellison is a strikingly handsome 37-year-old spiritual advisor and author of “I Am the Manifester.” The Orlando native is single and the youngest of six siblings; his parents are divorced. By all accounts, he is apt prey for doting women. But Ellison is gay and believes he was born that way.

“I knew at five years old I was attracted to men,” said Ellison, who prefers to be called Tobi.  “My behavior was unacceptable and my oldest cousin said I was the biggest sissy as a child because I rearranged furniture every week. In school everyone called me fag and a punk.”

Ellison endured painful sentiments that he was morally wrong his entire life but insists his perceptions and views do not represent the majority.

A different view
“Proposition 8 is a distraction,” declared Ellison. “I can’t believe in this day and age we are still talking about homosexuality…when the gay community stops making it a big deal, so will the world.”

Ellison has never formally dated a woman, but has slept with two. Further, he offered that he has kissed one person in the last 10 years and has never lived with another man.

“If I listened to religion, I am going to hell. I experience Christ-consciousness. God doesn’t care about your sexuality,” preached Ellison.

“People are not rising to a Christ-conscious level, they want to see (homosexuality) in their eyes. Man has created God in His image. I think that is the issue.”

Jeronica Byrd is a 34-year-old lesbian. She has been openly gay since age 17, but recognized   gender preference early.

“I knew when I was five, but didn’t know what it was,” said Byrd. “I only wanted to play with girls but was raised in the church and the South. They considered it wrong, so I thought something was wrong with me.”

Byrd became sexually promiscuous with men. She succumbed to social and religious pressure to marry, but extra marital affairs with women led to a divorce after five years from a husband she claims, “thought she was bisexual.’’

She shared, “We are taught the American Dream is 2.5 kids, a white picket fence, dog, and a husband – not a loving mate.’’

Founded lesbian sorority
Born to a 14-year-old mother in Arkansas, Byrd was raised and educated in Alabama by her great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother; her mother left to join the military.

“We grow up hearing that homosexuality is an abomination, so I’m not into organized religion,” stated Byrd. “It’s a tool of oppression not uplift and enlightenment.”

Byrd abides by a moral code to do right and use common sense – don’t lie, steal, cheat – but it’s not based on being a “Bible-thumping Christian.”

At Stillman College in Alabama, Byrd was blacklisted on campus when she “came out.”  She then founded Kappa Xi Omega Sorority, Inc., a community service organization and sisterhood for lesbian women created to articulate and encourage community consciousness.

A national advocate, Byrd believes there are three major lesbian influences: biological (born gay); sociological (assimilate to society and culture) and psychological (individuals damaged by men who feel women are their only option).

Byrd’s influence is biological. She and her partner of nine years look forward to marriage when DOMA is amended to afford everyone equal benefits.

Just like the rest of the world, last week’s bomb that blasted Boston during the world’s most famous marathon shook me at my core. Again? Terrorism? A bomb?  For the most part I avoided television beyond the initial day and opted to read numerous reports from national news affiliates.

Afterall, reading is fundamental.

On the third day, I decided to write. I was tremendously moved and saddended by the death of eight-year-old Martin Richard. I am a mother, a grandmother, a human being with compassion. So many of the details I read made the circumstances worse. No one was reporting (widely) about his sister who is now an amputee or his mother who endured surgery on her brain.

Since last week, reports have emerged regarding the brothers, white cap and black cap, both of whom have been named prime suspects in the bombing, a cowardly act of domestic terrorism with proported foreign terrorism links.

I refuse to glorify the two Chech brothers and further refuse to type their names. They have become the foremost subjects of the bombing as suspects. Less we forget who the real victims are. Eight-year-old Martin Richard was also a brother. An older brother. A younger brother. A son and a human being who deserved to live.

The following are my thoughts from last week’s writing which somehow emerged as both a blog and a poem…guess that makes it a plog or a boem.

Eight-Year-Old Wins Boston Marathon

dedicated to Martin Richard

Two days ago, a bomb blasted Boston.

Two twin booms, 12 seconds apart startled the tension of trained marathon runners.

Pre-race worries were simply the strength of their Achilles.

Airborne limbs have left the innocent labeled amputees and

once again a young dreamer named Martin has lost his life.

Eight-years-old and already a symbol for peace;

a pint-sized recipient of a headstone he didn’t earn.

Pressure cookers were believed the suspected culprit.

Pressure cookers were believed to be smuggled in duffel bags ─ dark and heavy ─ like gathered skin sagging beneath a coward’s eyes.

According to the White House, President Barack Obama betrayed no emotion in offering his statement to the press:

“Any event with multiple explosive devices ─ as this appears to be ─ is clearly an act of terror.”

This can only mean one Commander-in-chief thing: It’s ON!

The city of Boston has been blasted.

The remnants have birthed blame and the young, late Martin Richard’s mother can’t sleep. Her baby boy is dead. She, too, was damaged by the bomb ─ surgeons’ saved her brain. Oddly, God protected her maternal psyche.

His sister lost her leg and a husband and father is simply left to mourn.

America joins him.

I, too, am a woman losing sleep over life. This bomb attempted to erase my memories. Boston was the city of popular frequent during my Lesley University graduate school days. Cambridge and Harvard Square were neck-tie nice and summer-stroll cool but,

Boston’s where you trekked to feel good noise.

Everybody thinks they know Boston for baked beans, clam chowder, and the Sock-it-to me Red Sox, but the bookstores (baby), the massive museums, the jazz and that  Baaahhston dialect that slips through lips as though syllables were birthed to yawn.

There’s something kindred about a bomb at the footstool of folks you knew and still know. Lives were lost; bodies were injured and hurled down streets I casually walked. It feels like a domestic or foreign visitor roamed the same asphalt and spit in patriotic wind.

Boston belongs to everybody because we were 6^th grade history, massacre-forced and double s – double t drilled to spell Massachusetts. But I Phyllis Wheatley, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. know Boston.

I former flight attendant ─ Logan Airport remember Boston before the blast. Frankly, I’m feeling all “What the hell?” and 911 pissed all over again. A bomb has killed a beautiful young boy?

While blogging, I’m pumping Quincy Jones’ “Back on the Block” album from way back when.

Big Daddy Kane kicked it off with rhyme;

Birdland has blared;

Sarah Vaughn screamed a sassy scat;

And now Take 6 is acapella acting out.

I’m waiting for Maestro Jones to bless Boston with the reason I’ve always loved Track 12:

Tomorrow ─ (A Better you, a Better me)” featuring Tevin Campbell

 “I hope tomorrow will bring, a better you, a better me.

I know that we’ll show this world we got more we could be

So you should never give up on your hopes and your dreams

You gotta get up, get out, get into it, get it on to be strong…”

 Martin Richards will never see another tomorrow, feel his mother’s warm embrace, or spike chicken nuggets in ketchup during lunch with his third grade classmates. Martin’s race is over; he crossed the Boston Marathon finish line first.

 We are a strong America. We get up, get out, get into it, and get it on.

We keep it movin’ and

We are not deterred by terrorism.

I hope tomorrow will bring a better you, a better me…

I hope tomorrow will bring a better world.

This was the dream of two Martins.

 Penny Dickerson 2013

SIN – OR CIVIL RIGHT?

Black Floridians are on both sides of the gay marriage controversy

BY PENNY DICKERSON
SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

In the 50th anniversary year of the historic March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the United States Supreme Court was challenged to determine the constitutional boundaries of marriage and family.

A young protester stood in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on March 27 as the court heard arguments on a part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that prevents legally wed same-sex couples from receiving certain benefits by defining marriage as between a man and woman.
(OLIVIER DOULIERY/ABACA PRESS/MCT)

Last week, two pivotal cases were heard by the high court. Now, an America divided over same-sex marriage, and hopeful same-sex couples with dreams of marriage, await what could be groundbreaking legal decisions.

Proposition 8 and DOMA
California’s controversial ballot initiative known as Proposition 8 defines marriage only as between a man and a woman. It is widely understood as a ban on gay marriages.

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, prevents legally wed same-sex couples from receiving certain benefits by defining marriage as between a man and woman. (Florida has its own version of DOMA that was overwhelmingly passed by the Florida Legislature in 1997.)

In 2008, inspired by California’s Proposition 8, strong support from Florida’s African-American voters led to passage of an amendment to the state constitution, which now bans gay marriage in Florida. Then-Gov. Charlie Crist supported the amendment, as did then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Five years and a presidential re-election later, the legalization of gay marriage is front-and-center at the nation’s highest court. Black Floridians are on both sides of the debate.

‘Church’ speaks
Dr. Kevin W. Church, Sr. holds a biblical position on same-sex marriage – as befits a preacher named “Church.”

He is a man of God who has served his country for almost 20 years as both a U.S. Army officer and chaplain. Church is also a certified hospital chaplain, assists homeless veterans through a not-for-profit organization, and serves as team chaplain for the Jacksonville Giants, the American Basketball Association’s minor league championship team.

Church, an author with a Ph.D., has been married to the same wife for almost 30 years and is the father of three grown children.

Church is a traditionalist. He is not a proponent of same-sex marriage.

Adam and Eve
“My view is that first and foremost, the Bible has no errors and does not condone same-sex marriage,” stated Church. “In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve as a male and female. Eve was created from Adam’s rib and the Bible is clear that same-sex (marriage) does not exist…God did not intend a man and a man, but He gives all of us a choice.”

The Liberty University-educated theologian withholds personal judgment.

“As Christians, we love the sinner and hate the sin,” he explains.

I

In his career, Church says he has counseled more than 100 couples that were engaged to be married. He is endorsed by the North American Mission Board, which does not allow him to engage in counseling or conduct a marriage ceremony between same-sex couples. However, he gives spiritual counsel to all who seek it from him.

“Prior to any session, I always pray and let the Spirit lead,” explained Church. “I ask if there has ever been a time when either has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and offer an invitation to salvation,” he added.

End times
Church is aware that younger people are more tolerant these days.

“People are gonna do what they want to do, and Christianity will not reach everyone,” Church muses. He cites the hit single, “I’m Doing Me,” by Fantasia Barino of “American Idol” fame.

“Folks in society are ‘doing me’ and the economy is a factor,” offered Church, who supports his theory with Bible verses from II Timothy 3:1-7.
It states, “… in the last days, perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, and unholy…”

The other side
Jeronica Byrd is a 34-year-old divorced Black female who lives in Tampa. She is gay.

A scholar who earned a Master of Science degree in criminology, Byrd has been in a committed same-sex relationship for nine years and is the parent of a 17-year-old son. He is also gay.

Byrd is the founder and executive director of Professional Lesbian Women and seeks to marry her longtime companion. She insists that until same-sex marriage is nationwide and federally recognized, the laws don’t make any sense.

Limited rights
Byrd and her partner share property, vehicles, bank accounts – a life.

DOMA angers her because it prohibits them both from receiving over 1,100 federal benefits, the most important of which is the inheritance tax.

“If we were a federally recognized couple and something were to happen to me, my partner would not have to pay the tax,” Byrd explained.

The privileges heterosexual couples benefit from are often taken for granted by Proposition 8 and DOMA supporters. As an unrecognized legal spouse, Byrd’s partner cannot oblige Byrd’s wishes to be cremated because she can’t enforce a will or defy her surviving family’s decisions. Her partner also cannot make medical decisions, adopt her son or receive parental rights.

“She is the person I love and have built a life with, but it matters not because she is the same gender,” said Byrd. “My feelings for my partner are written on my soul. I need the legal marital protection, not the spiritual.”

‘Don’t need the world’
Conversely, Bruce “Tobi” Ellison does not need a marital or a spiritual ceremony to define his same-sex relationships.

The 37-year-old spiritual advisor, life coach, and author of  “I Am the Manifester” promotes “power and well-being” as philosophical dynamics people can control. He believes too many in both the gay and Black community don’t approve of themselves. This is the greater problem.

“I do not need the world or government in my relationships to experience the best love scenario I can have,” argues Ellison. “The government does not control the law of attraction. I can have the life I want without an outside voice dictating what it should look or feel like. I support same-sex marriages because I want people to have the equal rights. I just don’t need it (marriage),” he added.

‘Stop having homosexuals’
Based in Orlando, Ellison has numerous friends who work for the Walt Disney Company, one of several corporations implementing same-sex policies. Disney allows employees to extend some benefits to same-sex partners without marriage.

According to Ellison, hypocrisy has ruined marriage as a religious covenant.

“Heterosexuals who are against same-sex marriage and preach what people should or shouldn’t do need a careful analysis. Their marriage(s) are nothing to hold up to the light, or their five and six divorces,” Ellison admonished.

“How can they talk about the sanctity of marriage? I want no part of it. Also, if they are so against homosexuals, tell them to stop having them.”
Ellison believes he was born gay; it wasn’t a choice.

Willing to pay the price

Willetta  “Mamado” Smith agrees with Ellison. She has been openly gay since she was 14 years old, but recognized her orientation as early as age five. She is now 54.

She was an accomplished music industry veteran before doing a two-year stint at Gadsden Correctional Institute in Tallahassee. While there, she used her skills and experience to produce a music CD featuring fellow inmates.

Life didn’t stop for her after she got out of prison. A serial entrepreneur, she now does audio and video production in Jacksonville, including direct-to-video movies.

Mamado is in love and engaged to marry 26-year-old rap artist and model                          Alea Janae Dennis.

The Jacksonville couple has been partners for three years. They seek all the rights and protections married heterosexual couples enjoy. That’s impossible under current Florida law.

“We’re seeking legal representation to assist us in marrying in another state, perhaps Washington, D.C.,” said Smith. “It may cost up to $5,000, but we’re determined.”

Was the decision to go ‘gunless’ in the ‘Gunshine State’ fatal?

Editor’s Note: This is the sixth in a series of stories framing the life of James Roland Jackson, III, known as “Jimmy” to his family.

BY PENNY DICKERSON
SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

As reported in this series, 26-year-old Jimmy Jackson was shot on June 2, 2012, at the Silver Fox nightclub while working part time as road manager for rap artist Young Cash, a protégé of popular Florida-based rapper Flo Rida.

The former Florida A&M University business student died 10 days later at Shands Hospital, leaving his supportive family shocked and grieving. His five-year-old daughter Denia no longer has a daddy to tuck her in at night. He won’t cheer at her college graduation, or walk her down the aisle on her wedding day.

Four bullets
Jacksonville Detective Bobbie Bowers, the lead homicide investigator, is calling Jackson’s tragic shooting a random robbery.

Two Black males wearing dark clothing approached Jackson in a pitch-dark parking lot at close to 4 a.m.

He complied with their request for money, but assailants still pumped four bullets into his 6’1” athletic frame as he walked away.

Older brother Anthony Rozier said that Jackson refused to carry a concealed weapon, as is possible under Florida’s liberal ‘concealed carry’ law.

“I don’t need a gun, cause I ain’t gon’ shoot nobody,” Jackson told Rozier.

William “Bill” Burns holds a monthly raffle to win an AR-15 rifle. Proceeds benefit his nonprofit organization “Dream Hunts For Heroes.”
(PHOTOS COURTESY OF PENNY DICKERSON/FLORIDA COURIER)

Millions with guns
There’s no proof that Jackson would still be alive if he had been carrying a gun. But a record number of citizens do plan to shoot whenever necessary. One of every 17 Floridians – more than a million people just in Florida alone – has a license to carry a concealed firearm.

While homicide rates are down, Florida is home to the largest number of gun-carrying permits in the country, giving the peninsula an unsavory moniker: “the Gunshine State.”

Jacksonville has its own Gun Crime Unit, and for good reason. As reported by the United States Department of Justice based on 2011 statistics, the Middle District of Florida, the federal court district were Jacksonville is located, ranks third in the nation for the number of federal prosecutions of firearms-related cases.

In conjunction with Project Safe Neighborhood, a community-based initiative, the Gun Crime Unit meets once a week to discuss the prosecution of gun crimes and includes detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, special agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), as well as prosecutors from the State Attorney’s Office.

Easy to get
Many Floridians evidently believe peril is imminent, and they are buying guns. And all you need is money to buy a gun in Florida.

According to a Feb. 27 cover story in Folio Weekly, “No permits, license or identification card is required to buy or possess firearms and ammunition here, unlike in some other states.”  (You do need a license to conceal a gun and carry it.)

Ammunition can be purchased for cash at local gun shows. Firearm responsibility requires a permit application.

Fierce debate
The availability of guns is America’s most contentious new debate. From seasoned politicians to neighborhood barbershops hosting Saturday morning court, everyone is weighing in on access to firearms, who has a right to own, and the rampant gun violence sweeping the nation.

A movie theater massacre and last year’s Sandy Hook elementary killing spree has created a nation in fear and rendered public places unsafe.

First gun at 15
Gun shows are held almost every weekend in a Florida city and a large populous of enthusiasts support the culture.  Luke Wyatt purchased close to $280 worth of ammunition at a recent Jacksonville gun show.

“I come here to buy ammo because I can’t get it from the store,” said Wyatt. “ The government is making it even harder.”

The Florida State Community College student works part time at Longhorn Steakhouse and uses his earnings to support his hobby.

“I own three guns, a 30.06 long-range rifle, a tactical AR-22, and have access to my parents’ 9mm pistol,” Wyatt boasted.

A revolver like these on sale at a Jacksonville gun show could be similar to the firearm Jimmy’s shooter used.

Guns and target shooting has always been a part of Wyatt’s family life.  He was given his first gun at age 15 and is an avid hunter of game.

Racial disparity
The use of guns is racially disparate. According to a March 22 feature in the Washington Post, “Gun deaths are shaped by race in America. Whites are far more likely to shoot themselves, and African-Americans are far more likely to be shot by someone else.”

What’s consistent is that thousands of people are killed – or are killing themselves – with guns.

The Florida-based Trayvon Martin case has intensified the racial debate. Martin was shot and killed last February in Sanford by George Zimmerman, an off-duty neighborhood watchman. The shooter alleged Martin’s behavior was suspicious – he was walking slowly in the rain and wearing a hoodie.

The equally tragic killing of Jordan Davis followed the Martin killing. The 14-year-old was shot to death while sitting in a Dodge Durango with friends at a Gate gas station in Jacksonville.

Michael David Dunn, a White male, pulled up next to the teens and asked them to turn their loud music down. Following a verbal dispute, Dunn claimed he saw a shotgun in their car and sprayed seven shots into the parked SUV. Davis died on the scene; police reported the teens had no gun.

These murders have sparked a national outcry against gun violence; race is a subtext because White men killed both Martin and Dunn.

Jimmy Jackson’s death was different. The shooters were Black. As mass shootings prompt vigils and flags flown at half-mast, mainstream media attention to  “Black-on-Black” crime is practically nonexistent.

‘Not a race problem’
David Frum, contributing editor at Newsweek offered the following in a CNN report titled, “U.S. gun problem is not a race problem.’’

“The typical murder has one victim, not many. The typical murder is committed with a handgun, not a rifle. And in the typical murder, both the perpetrator and the victim are young black men. Blacks are six times as likely as Whites to be the victim of a homicide. Blacks are seven times as likely to commit a homicide.”

‘In the wrong hands’
Isaiah Rumlin, president of the Jacksonville NAACP branch, says his organization is very concerned about gun violence.

“It’s a socioeconomic issue that affects our city, state, and nation,” said Rumlin. “We have got to produce better-educated people, produce more jobs, and develop better programs for repeat offenders who are released and return to our communities.”

He additionally calls on parents to do a better job and take responsibility for their children’s actions before tragedy strikes.

“Too many guns are in the wrong hands,” declared Rumlin.

The Rev. R.L. Gundy, pastor of Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville, also weighed in on the subject. He is the state president of the Southern Christian Leadership conference.

Gundy stated that with “a present mean legislative body and more than 225 federally licensed gun dealers in a state, it creates an environment where people become predators on each other – both Black and White.’’

The community activist doesn’t offer it as an excuse but insists that the current gun culture has been created by society and cites the previous methodology of President Bill Clinton’s as a positive example.

The Clinton administration tracked every gun used in a crime and, statistically, as it was then, Florida tops the list.

“When all of your Black fathers are in jail and there are no jobs, the problem transcends mere socioeconomic and it’s deeper than parents serving as a solution,” Gundy added. “The highest population of Blacks in Florida is in Duval County and 72 percent of all babies born in a Black family are without a father. It becomes a mental health and psychological (issue) too.”

Crimes and justice
A public service announcement uses six quick words to spell out the consequences of committing a gun crime: “Use a gun and you’re done.” Pull a gun –10 years in prison. Fire a gun – 20 years. Shoot someone – 25 years to life in prison.

That’s the penalty facing the individual(s) responsible for Jackson’s murder.

Click link to read this and other exciting news at the Florida Courier

http://flcourier.com/2013/03/14/architect-of-flavor-whips-up-harveys-healthy-dishes/

BY PENNY DICKERSON
SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

Judson Todd Allen is a winner who loves to lose.

He has won a battle with weight, losing more than 135 pounds. He auditioned for the “Next Food Network Star’’ four times before joining the 2012 cast. He again, lost but recalibrated

Now he’s the personal chef to comedian/entertainer/radio/television personality/author Steve Harvey. How Allen landed the gig is the kind of stuff dreams are made of.

“I heard on the radio Steve Harvey was looking for a chef in Chicago,” said Allen. “I was in Tennessee when my business manager called and told me to fly home. I prepared my classic pecan encrusted Chilean sea bass served atop roasted garlic, sautéed spinach infused with lemon and herbs.” Harvey finished the meal and told Allen, “I’ll see you on Monday!”

Launched hot sauce
A background in food science helps the Chicago native mirror Harvey’s varied weight loss and muscle mass goals and says his boss is very well rounded in both diet and nutrition.

During a weight-loss detox, Allen’s European influenced culinary skills were essential in creating Harvey’s rich and creamy soups prepared without butter or dairy.

“I roasted cauliflower and parsnips blended with garlic and herbs,” said Allen, who promotes healthy eating and healthy foods.

Harvey loves hot sauce and was instrumental in the launch of Allen’s signature product called Chef Judson’s All-purpose Habanero Hot Sauce.

Promoted as less hot and more flavor, it’s an all natural, low sodium combination. Allen refers to himself as the “Architect of Flavor’’ – an original brand built for a winner.

For more information on the chef, visit http://www.judsontoddallen.com.

Florida teens participate in Disney Dreamers Academy hosted by Steve Harvey, Essence Magazine

BY PENNY DICKERSON
SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

High school students converged upon the state last week for the sixth annual Disney Dreamers Academy sponsored by Walt Disney World Resorts with Steve Harvey and Essence Magazine.

The 100 students arrived from as far as California and Vermont with a cluster of Midwestern states represented. Bodacious dreams were packed along with stories as warm as the sunshine during a four-day, three-night weekend held March 6-10.

Each student was challenged to boldly reach for the stars like the foremost signature dreamer: Walt Disney. Among them were 11 Florida “Dreamers” selected from 5,000 submissions.Winning essays articulated everything from cancer adversity to presidential award achievements, and collectively they are the next generation of physicians, journalists, James Beard award culinary chefs, Academy Award-winning actors and Disney Imagineers.

‘How bad do you want it?’
Student Dwight James of Jacksonville was in awe of motivational speaker Jonathan Sprinkles who made a splash so big, he was awarded a Golden Mickie. “He gave one quote I’ll never forget,” said James. “Fear is nothing but false evidence that appears real.”

Keeping it real was thematic for the notable men who inspired. Florida A&M University graduate and film producer Will Packer encouraged teens to, “Stay focused, be consistent, and be known as someone who always delivers with excellence.”

Los Angeles philanthropist and entrepreneur Bernard Kinsey gave a presentation on Black history from The Kinsey Collection, which debuted at Epcot’s American Heritage Gallery.

“Henry Assian Flipper was the first West Point graduate in 1877,” stated Kinsey. “He wasn’t spoken to for four years due to his color and what did he still do? Graduate. How bad do you want it?”

‘Fly Girl 101’
“American Idol’’ runner-up Kimberly Locke left an indelible impression on Reaghan Wooster, a Harvard University bound 14 year-old from Yalaha, which is located in Lake County.

“I was inspired when she shared relationships were not supposed to be abusive,” said Wooster. “I have a stable family environment, but appreciated hearing abuse is not acceptable.”

A “Fly Girl 101” session was facilitated by twin sisters Brandi and Karli Harvey, daughters of Steve Harvey. Celebrity guests included Chaundra Wilson of “Grey’s Anatomy’’; celebrity chef Carla Hall, a co-host of “The Chew’’; and “Sunday Best’’ runner-up Jessica Reedy. Female Dreamers were given tips on everything from skirt length to confidence.

Erica Thomas, 16, from Land O’Lakes, kept it girl-power real. “I’m a Girl Scout,” she remarked. “When is it cool to not help someone? You’re never too old.”

Hands-on workshops
In “Deep Dives,” Dreamers delved into careers guided by industry professionals. Aisha Louis of Hollywood, Fla., was not accepted last year, but dreamed her way into the 2013 class where she wrote a front-page article for a newsletter produced by students during the academy.

“Since last year’s application, my writing skills grew,” Louis explained. “What I thought was my story wasn’t. I learned how to express.”

“They’ve been committed from the start,” said Tanisha Sykes, senior managing editor of Essence Magazine. “I’ve seen them focus, adhere to deadlines, and just have fun. It’s been phenomenal,” she added.  Her leadership, along with Demorris Lee of the National Association of Black Journalists, saw the project through.

Marcus Burns, Jr. dreams of becoming an artist. The Jacksonville teen rendered art so impressive during his “dive’’ that Dwayne Edwards, former designer for Jordan Brand Shoes, recommended him for a potential internship.

Actor Lamman Rucker worked with creative dreamers while celebrity chef Jeff Henderson helped hone culinary skills.

Parental pow-wow
“Take care of yourself first. Healthy people raise healthy children,” advised Dr. Steve Perry. The CNN education contributor motivated parents during a personal session. “Beyond liking your kids, you have to lead them. You lead people you love.’’

Perry’s words resonated with parent Terlisa Sheppard, who is fighting stage four breast cancer. She receives chemotherapy but accompanied 14-year-old Alyah Sheppard, whom she calls her “miracle child.”  The Orlando family further beat odds in 2011 when daughter Alexis Sheppard was also was accepted into the academy.

A parent or guardian was invited to accompany each Dreamer to the academy. The parents and students had a complimentary stay at the Disney Port Orleans Resort. Most mornings for the students began at 6:30 a.m.

Harvey’s advice
Dreamers were armed with portfolio notebooks and 100 personalized business cards. They were encouraged to network.

Steve Harvey joked with parents, “This weekend was created for the young people with the red shirts on. We just have programs for ya’ll so you can stay out the way.”

Punch lines were frequent but Harvey equally kept it above board.

“Whatever you do, whatever path you choose to take, please, please listen to me, put God right in the middle of your base,” pleaded Harvey. “That’s the best way. It will ensure your success; it will guarantee you get there.”

Essence Magazine Editor-At-Large Mikki Taylor echoed with purpose.  “As you pour into your dreams, please don’t focus on money. It’s just paper…you were created to do more than make paper,” stated Taylor.

“Pursue your dream in the full recognition that your gift is not just about you.”

‘All have a dream’
The World Showplace hosted a celebratory commencement featuring gospel legend Yolanda Adams.

Parents presented Dreamers with class rings by the company Josten, and tearful hugs.

Tracey Powell, Executive Champion of the Disney Dreamers Academy, leads the team responsible for program success. “This year has been fabulous,” stated Powell. “Every group of 100 is different and special, but the commonality is they all have a dream.”

Powell welcomes applications in June from all who dare to dream in 2014.

What a great time I had covering this event. The “Dreamers” were absolutely incredible young men and women and the Walt Disney world staff displayed their expected perfection and “be our guest” flair. From the beautiful accommodations at the Animal Kingdom Resort to the first parade down to the closing ceremony featuring a lion king performance, it was simply incredible. That is the single, most befitting word that I can offer: incredible. Well done Steve Harvey, essence magazine, and disney!

Related stories

Annual multi-day festival celebrates life of folklorist Zora Neale Hurston with plenty of art, crafts, history

Master Artist Charles Bibbs is renowned for his ability to bring the nuance of African-American culture to life through his visual artistry. The California resident’s work, like the one above, was showcased at the festival.
(PENNY DICKERSON/SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER)

BY PENNY DICKERSON
SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

The town of Eatonville celebrated the 24th annual ZORA! Festival with the theme:  Zora’s Eatonville: Culture as Conservator of Community’s Heritage. The multi-day Zora Neale Hurston namesake event kicked off on Jan. 26 with its traditional pageantry and robust arts and cultural contributions from the African Diaspora to Florida.

A global perspective of the Humanities gave the 2013 occasion a unique educational approach with invited guests from Moscow, Russia and a rare view of Native American life through the lens of award-winning documentary producer Anne Makepeace. The event ended on Feb. 3 with a practical approach to preventive disease for African-Americans by Celebrity Chef Marvin Woods.

The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community (P.E.C.) has presented the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities since 1990. Broadly known by the exclamatory epithet – ZORA!, this year’s festival marks the conclusion of a two-year celebration of Historic Eatonville’s 125th anniversary as the nation’s oldest incorporated African-American municipality.

Arts and literature
A distinctive voice in 20th-century literature, Hurston is best known for the 1937 iconic novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God.’’                           

The anthropologist, folklorist, and essayist emerged as a creative force during the Harlem Renaissance and advanced to literary stature as an intellectual who was imbued with a unique ability to vividly portray southern life

Historically deemed nomadic and restless with an exuberant personality and penchant for wearing hats, Hurston was born Jan. 7, 1891 and died Jan. 28, 1960.  The festival in her adopted hometown of Eatonville is held each January in her posthumous memory through visual arts, oral history, traditional crafts, film, and, above all – literature.

HATitude a festival tradition
Women wearing brims as wide as their shoulders and pillboxes touting plumes and netted veils convened at the downtown Orlando Crown Plaza for HATitude!

An intimate affair of brunch and haute couture, the tradition is known as the festival’s hottest ticket in town and allows women ages 21 to 54 an opportunity to be “the stars” for an advance price of $50 and $55 at the door. Rhythmic to attitude, HATitude is celebratory of Hurston’s colorful existence and Renaissance flair for finishing outfits with a hat.

Marjorie Phillips chose a standard black felt hat that was complementary to her petite frame and didn’t make as much noise as the more contemporary and flamboyant chapeaus at her table.

“I am not really a hat lover at all, “said Phillips. “I’ve heard so many great things about the brunch, but the most important thing I was told was you can’t get in without wearing a hat. For a few hours, I can learn to love a hat.”

Art in Eatonville
Master Artist Charles Bibbs is renowned for his innate ability to bring the nuance of African-American culture to life through his visual artistry. The southern California native currently resides in Riverside and began his career as a street artist who worked as a supervisor for Boeing aircraft.

“I left aviation and became a full-time artist in 1993,” offered Bibbs. “African-American people created a market for African-American art and I was in the right place at the right time.”

Bibbs cannot boast any formal training, but has a degree in business with a minor in Art. From California streets to Eatonville’s Kennedy Boulevard, the spectacled genius joined colleagues on fine arts lane where he welcomed a continual host of fans and emerging artists eager to meet the man who masters both his people and color.

“I’m a mixed media artist, mainly acrylic and ink,” explained Bibbs. “I’m a believer that you paint by what you know and what you experience and that’s what I’ve done over the years and I’ve been successful at it…the important thing that I preach is that we need to breed collectors. And they need a starting point.

They need to be able to buy a poster and a print and as they move on, they will be able to understand what they are buying through education.”

According to Bibbs, art is based upon affordability and he belongs to a community of artists who seek to merge the efforts of a mainstream and elite audience to advance the art form and opportunities for all. When asked the advice he would give potential artists, Bibbs imparts, “Approach it like a business and not something so special you can’t part with.”

From tofu to turkey
Everybody screamed for the fresh churned, homemade ice cream and additional sugary delights during the popular “Outdoor Festival of the Arts.” Amidst children performing on the steps of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, street peddlers pushed red wagons filled with candy apples down Kennedy Boulevard while vendors prodded visitors into rows of white tents.

For a fixed or bargained price, attendees could purchase everything from pure African shea butter to T-shirts from President Barack Obama’s inauguration. In the biggest tent, adjacent to preferred soul food and fried fish that has watered festival palettes for years, Celebrity Chef Marvin Woods led a one-man campaign to help African-Americans prevent the prevalent diseases that affect our race: diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol. Behind a colorful set of fresh fruit, exotic spices and natural grain ingredients, Woods simultaneously lectured and demonstrated a healthy recipe using either tofu or turkey for chili.

“I’m giving you a recipe that is easy and nutritious,” said Woods. “African-Americans are used to smoked meats that are not really naturally smoked, but rather injected with smoke flavors. That’s sodium and creates a high salt intake and leads to diseases that can shorten lives.”

Woods suggested smoked paprika for a spice and the grains Quinoa and Farro as white rice alternatives. Upon sampling the final product, many guests were shocked at their affinity to adapt to the recipe. “I eat any and everything, but I do it in moderation,” explained Woods. “People need to learn the concept of eat more weigh less: 64 ounces of water, five meals a day, and some form of exercise.”

Bridging the Black male gap
Consistent with the festival’s theme, innovative artists represented projects created to give voice to the role of communities in the preservation of heritage.

Houston activist and artist Rick Lowe, founder of Project Row Houses joined Hank Willis Thomas for an opening reception and gallery talk on the cutting edge transmedia art project titled Question Bridge: Black Males.

The brainchild of innovators Thomas and Chris Johnson, the two collaborated with Bayete Ross Smith and Kamal Sinclair to document provocative dialogue that stemmed from a five-channel video installation representing more than 150 Black men in 12 U.S. cities. Considered more of a “megalogue,” the stream-of -consciousness inquiries run the gamut of family, love, sexuality, community, education, and the most prevalent dilemma for today’s black men: violence.

A predominantly female audience attended an evening community engagement and panel discussion on Feb. 1 in the Eatonville Library following a walk-through tour in the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts on Kennedy Boulevard.

“The project is not just about Black males, it’s about people and how people react when put in a group, and how they react within that group,” explained Thomas.

Featured males posed questions like the poignant, “What is common to us as Black males?” A male responds: “Our commonality is in our history. Our beauty is who we are as Black people.” That respondent then poses his own question and the cyclic inquiry continues.

Captured responses ranged from the candid, “What’s so cool about selling crack?” to an incarcerated Black male in the San Diego prison being asked, “Are you ready for freedom?”  A continued “Talk Back” session was held Saturday afternoon during “Family Day.”

Sustaining ZORA!
“We need a little bit of money from a whole lot of people,” pleaded N.Y. Nathiri, director of Multidisciplinary Programs and Chair of the ZORA! Festival National Planners. The committee dedicated a full page in the festival guide outlining their appeal to “those who value ZORA! Festival. The following is explicitly outlined as follows:

“For the first since the P.E.C. began competing for tourist development tax grant dollars (2002), ZORA! Festival 2013 was not recommended for funding. However, on October 16 (2012), in a first-ever, one-time exception, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, in a 6-1 vote, allocated the $150.000, $1-for-$1 cash match grant to P.E.C. as long as our organization was able to meet certain stipulations…one of those stipulations was to make a report on April 2013 which addresses how well our organization has been able to expand its funding base; and to demonstrate a “broad public endorsement” of ZORA! Festival by documenting the individual financial investments we receive during “the festival cycle,” i.e. November 1, 2012 – April 30, 2013.”

Their first effort to address the aforementioned was to charge admission. Attendees ages 17 and younger were admitted free. Those older were asked to give a cash donation. The future of ZORA! Festival and Hurston’s cultural legacy rests in the contributions left in envelopes provided by the community. Next year the festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary.